Virtual Reality and Tourism: A Literature Review

The virtual reality (VR) technology represents a recent innovation in the tourism field and scholars already highlighted it may have a notable impact on the future of the tourism industry (Tussyadiah et al., 2018). Despite an increasing interest in terms of publications, literature on the applications of VR in tourism appears still fragmented. To address this issue and identify relevant research themes, this paper carries out a systematic literature review to order and synthesize existing contributions on the theme. Based on the PRISMA approach, a sample of 43 articles (published from 2004 onwards) was identified and organized into five possible clusters: Virtual Reality & Tourism Experience; Cultural Heritage & Virtual Tourism; VR Marketing & Consumer Behavior; VR Adoption & Technological Challenges; Emerging Technological Trends in VR for Tourism. Based on the review, the paper also provides some theoretical and managerial implications.